"Catch a Wave" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band, The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1963 album Surfer Girl. This song was recorded on July 14 and 16, 1963. This song is notable for the use of a harp played by Mike Love's sister, Maureen. The lead vocal was originally thought to be Dennis Wilson's, but in actuality, it is that of Mike Love with a heavy cold.
The album track was re-released in 1968, minus vocals, for the sing-along Stack-O-Tracks album, which features all-instrumental versions of original Beach Boys recordings. In the liner notes for both CD versions of the albums the song appears on, Brian Wilson observes that "'Catch a Wave' was more rhythmic. The guitars (Carl Wilson and David Marks) were more clean and driving as if to say they didn't wanna stop. The piano was played by me and it was perfectly synchronized with the guitars. The 3 different sounds combined to make one unique sound. I was ecstatic about this."
As Al Jardine performs on bass and sings on the track, "Catch a Wave" is an example of the six-man lineup the band had at times in the summer and fall of 1963, prior to Marks' quitting the Beach Boys late in the year.
Despite never being released as a single, the track was included on the greatest-hits 1974 Endless Summer album that revived the commercial sales of the band. The track is also featured in the 1993 box set Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys in a version that is about 11 seconds longer due to the 'fade' coming after the refrain is sung four times, not two, as is the case with the original releases.
Read more about Catch A Wave: Details, Other Recordings
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